Planet Houston
Houston is an arid world whose population consists mostly of what Manhattanites would term the economically undesirable, many of whom are former inmates of the orbiting prison ships. The cheap labor force has attracted a number of industries, however, including a major Deep Space Engineering manufacturing plant and several factories specializing in Consumer Goods and Construction Machinery. The presence of phosphates in Houston's alkaline deserts has also produced a booming market in Fertilizers. But Houston's biggest industry is fueled by its substantial criminal problem, with both the Bounty Hunters Guild and Liberty Police, Inc. (LPI) maintaining their respective local headquarters on the planet. Infocard *LOCATION: Texas system *DIAMETER: 8,201 km. *MASS: 3.38 x 10e24 kg. *TERRAIN: Desert *TEMPERATURE: -88°C to 100°C *ESCAPE VELOCITY: 9.02 km/sec Ships For Sale *Patriot - $7,600 *Rhino - $9,170 *Startracker - $17,020 Commodities For Sale *Cobalt - $552 *Construction Machinery - $100 *Consumer Goods - $36 *Copper - $300 *Diamonds - $858 *Engine Components - $600 *Fertilizers - $30 *Food Rations - $50 *H-Fuel - $408 *High Temperature Alloy - $520 *Light Arms - $252 *Mining Machinery - $259 *Optical Chips - $232 *Oxygen - $5 *Pharmaceuticals - $144 *Ship Hull Panels - $440 *Silver - $560 *Super Alloy - $216 *Superconductors - $180 *Water - $45 Guns For Sale *Justice Mk I *Justice Mk II *Justice Mk III *Lavablade Mk I *Lavablade Mk II *Lavablade Mk III *Magma Hammer Mk I *Vengeance Mk I Turrets For Sale *Lavablade Turret Mk I *Lavablade Turret Mk II Missiles For Sale *Eraser Missile *Javelin Missile *Slingshot Missile *Stalker Missile *Sweeper Missile *Windstalker Missile Shields For Sale *Adv. Sentry Fr. Shield *Adv. Sentry H.F. Shield *Adv. Sentry L.F. Shield *Sentry Fr. Shield *Sentry H.F. Shield *Sentry L.F. Shield Torpedo/Cruise Disruptors For Sale *Wasp Cruise Disruptor Mine Dispensers For Sale *Drone Mine *Razor Mine *Seeker Mine *Wardog Mine News CRIME IN THE FAMILY: HOUSTON -- A recent poll showed that more than 80 percent of the entire population of Houston has a family member that has been convicted of a crime or has served time on an LPI ship. However, only 30 percent of all those employed in the Fertilizer or Construction machinery plants have been convicted of a felony offense. For many it seems that working the plants is their only chance at leading a legitimate life. A DEBT IS OWED TO TEXAS: HOUSTON -- Before the Dallas Incident, Liberty invested heavily in Texas. Houston residents were led to believe that the system would be the research center of the entire House. Virtually overnight the government moved out, leaving nothing but destruction and decay in its wake. Many citizens feel that the government had no right to leave Texas so abruptly because of a terrible government error. "There wouldn't be no crime here if they gave folks an option," says Fertilizer plant worker and Houston native Frank Stalls. Perhaps there is a better alternative to solving crime than building new prisons. HOUSTON RESIDENT RECOVERS LOOT: HOUSTON -- Horace Whittaker was awakened last week to the sound of a terrific explosion outside his home. A smoking crater was all that remained of his backyard and a Liberty Rogue ship that had plummeted from the skies. The next day, as Whittaker surveyed the wreckage, he spotted something shining in the ashes. It turned out to be a Diamond. "I started digging through that mess like crazy," Whittaker reported. When all was told, he had recovered over a million credits in Diamonds. According to Liberty law the Diamonds are his. THE GUILD IS LOOKING FOR NEW BLOOD: HOUSTON -- They say the best way to catch a criminal is to hire one, and that is exactly what the Bounty Hunters Guild is doing in the following months. Guild masters will be coming in from New York to recruit new Bounty Hunters into the organization. For many, this is an excellent opportunity to leave Texas and make their fortunes adventuring in space. Any applicants who qualify will receive training and benefits, although all pay is earned exclusively through successful bounty collections. Rumors ALG Waste Disposal "ALG ships valuable components to this base from our facilities in Dortmund. This includes Ship Hull Panels and High-Temperature Alloys." "The ship-building supplies we have brought to this base are also shipped to other locations within Liberty. Both Norfolk and Baltimore have need of our Ship Hull Panels and our High-Temperature Alloys." "The Xenos in this system make themselves a constant problem to us. The fools do not understand that without our goods Liberty could not make the ships to protect her. More aggravating is that Liberty authorities do not seem to take the Xeno threat seriously." Bounty Hunters Guild "This base being primarily a Commodity producer means that it is a tempting target for the criminals in the area. So I patrol the Trade Lanes nearby, hunting for the scum who waylay shipping." "We offset the cost of housing Liberty's criminals by putting them to work making products for the good citizens of Liberty. If you are on the Sugarland, you will be working in the scrap smelters; if you are on the Huntsville, you will be making Consumer Goods." "The Outcasts come in from the California Jump Hole and then head for the Junker base in Debris Field One. Before they leave the system, they do a bit of pirating themselves. You'd think they wouldn't care about pirating with all the money they make from Cardamine." "The Xenos are strong in this system; they harass foreign shipping resources on the way to New York from Rheinland. The Rheinland government and her corporations are displeased with the lack of action from LPI, so oftentimes we get hired to reduce the Xeno population in the system." "There are all manner of debris fields in this system for outlaws to hide in, but you have to be careful if you go in, because some of the debris areas contain radiated fields that will cook you and your ship before you can escape." "If the Outcasts are going to attack a prison, they will attack the Sugarland. That is the only prison that houses them, and truth be told, there aren't many Outcasts there at all. Most of them fight to the death when cornered. The ones who are captured usually die within the first month of incarceration for some reason. Some of them manage to survive, though." "Not too long ago there was a prison break by some Rogues from a Sugarland work convoy in the East Dallas Debris Field. They fled into the Pequena Negra Cloud, pursued by a Bounty Hunter named Annie "Shorty" Davis. She flew a nice rig called "the Avenger." The Rogues eventually doubled back and escaped through the California Hole. Annie must have gotten confused in there, or maybe her ship was damaged by some enemy fire. Either way, she never emerged from that dark cloud." Cryer Pharmaceuticals "From Ft. Bush and Denver we bring Pharmaceuticals to this base. From that point on Universal and Republican ship our medical goods throughout Liberty and the rest of Sirius." "It is a good thing that we do not have to spend much time within this system, since it is filled with all manner of scum. Other shipping companies take over and ship our Pharmaceuticals from here, leaving them with the risk of piracy." "The Outcasts bring their dreaded Cardamine to this system and then on to New York. At Cryer we are working on a synthetic form of Cardamine that will not lower worker productivity and will be relatively non-addictive." Deep Space Engineering "This base provides us with a great deal of the Construction Machinery we use in all our operations in New York. From this base we ship to Manhattan, Pittsburgh, Norfolk, Ft. Bush, and our Baltimore Shipyards." "Deep Space Engineering builds all the greatest of Liberty's technological marvels. From the Jump Gates and Trade Lanes that enable high-speed travel throughout the Sirius Sector, to the luxury liners that bring her joy, we are Liberty construction." "The majority of our operations are found in New York, yet Texas is where you must come if you are looking for heavy-duty Construction Machinery. This makes us vulnerable to attacks from the pirates and thieves that litter this system." Junkers "Some of the finest quality Diamonds are brought to this base from Beaumont. We also ship Cobalt here. The income we receive from selling these goods allow us to re-supply our base from here with Consumer Goods, Oxygen, H-Fuel, Water, Food, Pharmaceuticals, Side Arms, and Engine Components." "Our base is nicely hidden within this system. A lot of shipping come through Texas, which means there is a lot of piracy, too. That just means we get to take part in the shipping of goods in Texas. If you want to do business with us, look for our base in the North Dallas Debris Field." "We supply the underclass of Houston with its vice of choice: Cardamine from Beaumont. You were surprised? Everyone has bad habits; we just make it easier for them." Liberty Police, Incorporated "Fifty percent of the population living within this system has either served time at an LPI facility or is currently incarcerated. We house all of Liberty's prison population on the Sugarland or Huntsville, or within the penal colony planetside." "We've got permanent residents at the prison here. They are the ones called NCRs, or "no chance for rehabilitation." In other words, they are going to be staying in Texas for the rest of their lives." "There is a Junker base in this system, and that's where you are going to find a lot of the criminals that haven't been dragged to one of our prison ships yet. But it's just a matter of time." "We offset the cost of housing Liberty's criminals by putting them to work making products for the good citizens of Liberty. If you are on the Sugarland, you will be working in the scrap smelters; if you are on the Huntsville, you will be making Consumer Goods." "If it wasn't for LPI, Liberty Police, Inc., Liberty would have been bankrupted by the sheer cost of housing all of her prisoners. But they were smart enough to privatize their department of corrections, and that is how we were formed." "A lot of the original LPI employees were police that had worked for the state. When the police went private, the pay decreased, so we had to make up for the shortfall, if you know what I mean. Fortunately, we have a little more latitude than we did as employees of the government." Liberty Navy "Our battleships have been patrolling this system since the catastrophe with the Dallas. At first we patrolled this system to protect citizens from going into deadly radiation areas caused by the failed Ageira experiment, but now we patrol to curb piracy in the lawless area of the Forbidden Zone." "My patrol wing flies through the southern part of the system, along the edges of the South and East Dallas Debris Fields. Our route then takes us along the western edge of the Grande Negra. A ship can only last a few seconds in the dark matter of the Negras." "All our patrols originate from the Mississippi. Some patrol the Trade Lane to the Bering Jump Gate, and others fly through the North Dallas Debris Field and along the southern edge of the Pequena Negra looking for criminals where we suspect Jump Holes may exist." Republican Shipping "Republican ships goods from this base to the heart of Liberty: New York. Mining Machinery is sent to Pittsburgh and Ft. Bush. and Cobalt is also delivered to Ft. Bush. Manhattan receives Silver and Diamonds that have been transported from Rheinland." "We bring Engine Components and Silver to Los Angeles from Houston. It's a long stretch for us to get to California, but at least there aren't any Xenos there." "Republican ships Copper to Pueblo, and we return with Superconductors and Super Alloys bound for the Oder Shipyard in New Berlin. One day Rheinland will manufacture all of our necessary materials." "Many of the Commodities traded here are shipped to Rheinland. From Houston we ship Pharmaceuticals to New Berlin, and Optical Chips to the Alster Shipyard in Hamburg." "We ship a wide variety of raw materials and finished products needed by Liberty industry from the New Berlin system: Mining Machinery from Essen; Copper and Silver from Bonn; Diamonds from New Berlin; and Cobalt, Engine Components, and Copper from the Ring." Synth Foods "All the Fertilizer produced here is bought and shipped by Synth Foods to destinations around Sirius. Most of the Fertilizer makes its way to Stuttgart to support Synth Foods' largest operation to date. Food produced there is then imported into Texas to cheaply feed the burgeoning prison populations there." "The Fertilizers produced at this base will be flown by us to the biodomes of Freeport 2 in Bering. From there we ship the Food back to Houston, to augment the Food imported from Stuttgart." "We promote commerce in Liberty as well as Rheinland and Kusari. We will ship Fertilizers from this base to Denver and Los Angeles, and then ship Food back here from Los Angeles." "Everyone needs Fertilizers, even the Kusari. That's why our transports ship the Fertilizers from this base to Deshima in Shikoku." Universal Shipping "Our shippers in New York return with Side Arms from Detroit, Super Alloys and Superconductors from Trenton, and H-Fuel and Optronics from Ft. Bush." "Houston and its orbiting prisons are the primary Consumer Goods manufacturing locations for Liberty, with the distinction of being the cheapest producer in the entire Sirius Sector, thanks to our free prisoner labor. Consumer Goods are distributed by Universal throughout Liberty space from here." "The Consumer Goods industry needs various raw materials. On return trips we'll deliver Polymers and Optical Chips from Los Angeles, or Optronics from Ft. Bush." "Just came in with a load of H-Fuel from Ft. Bush. We'll head out in the morning to make the delivery rounds to the Huntsville, Sugarland, and the Mississippi." "Universal services all police and military bases in Texas. Only thing we bring back down is Basic Alloys from the Sugarland Smelter. They use them in the Consumer Goods and Construction Machinery plants here." "Our convoy just moored a few hours ago. We ran a load of Silver in from Bonn. Rough run, that was. I think we'll try the Bering system next time. Sometimes we run Diamonds. That's even more intense. those criminals can smell it like a pack of dogs." "We ship Pueblo-produced Super Alloys and Superconductors all the way to New Berlin. Try to pick up a load of Engine Components and Copper at the Ring for the return." Category:Planets Category:Liberty Systems